(Image Source: Twitter)
[Saba Sports News] The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, are currently in progress, featuring T20 cricket events for both men and women at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field. Leading up to the event, images of the cricket stadium in Hangzhou have gone viral on social media, eliciting various fan reactions. Notably, all cricket matches during the tournament will be held at this venue.
The women’s cricket event began on September 19, and the Indian women’s team, captained by Smriti Mandhana, has already secured a spot in the semi-finals. In their first Quarterfinal match on September 21 against Malaysia, India gladly accepted Malaysia’s invitation to bat first.
Openers Mandhana (27 off 16) and Shafali Verma (67 off 39) contributed 57 runs for the first wicket in 5.2 overs. Subsequently, Jemimah Rodrigues (47 off 29) and Richa Ghosh (21 off 7) played exceptional innings in the middle order, propelling India to a total of 173/2 in 15 overs.
Unfortunately, rain interrupted the match after just two balls in the second innings, resulting in the game being abandoned. Nevertheless, India advanced to the semi-finals due to their higher T20I rankings compared to Malaysia. India is ranked fourth in the ICC Women’s T20I team rankings, while Malaysia is ranked 26th.
In a similar fashion, the second quarter-final between Indonesia and Pakistan was also abandoned without a ball being bowled. Consequently, Pakistan (ranked 7th) secured a spot in the semi-finals due to their higher T20I ranking compared to Indonesia (ranked 21st).
India is scheduled to compete in the first semi-final on Sunday, September 24, while Pakistan will participate in the second semi-final on the same date.
Notably, some fans have expressed concerns about the ground’s dimensions, believing that the short boundaries at the venue may lead to high-scoring matches.